Venom
by tmjohn72
Summary: Stiles storms out of a pack meeting and manages to get bit by a rattlesnake in the middle of the forest. He has no way of calling for help and he's sure he's going to die there all alone. Sterek
1. Chapter 1

Title: Venom

Author: tmjohn72

Rating: T

A/N - This idea came to me after watching a few episodes of "I Should Have Died," which is about people that go through horrible situations and somehow manage to survive. I thought it would be interesting to see how the pack would deal with something so mundane. But of course they always expect the supernatural first, and the normal world second. It worked out to 4 chapters and I think it turned out well enough to post.

It's more like a short story in 4 chapters than one of my usual fics, so don't hound me about length. )

* * *

_Stiles_

Stiles was angry. He had listened to the pack's comments and finally had enough when they declared that he was to keep his distance from all of them with the Alpha pack in town. Stiles knew it was stupid, mostly because a human Stiles without werewolf protection would be an easy target for the enemy. He had even said so, but Derek had quickly changed the subject while simultaneously reminding everyone that his word, as Alpha, was law. Everyone avoided his eyes like the good little puppets they were, and he was pretty sure that he even called them that, before storming out and walking into the forest.

To be fair, he wasn't exactly in the best mood when he arrived to the meeting. His Jeep was back in the repair shop and receiving new headlights since the previous ones had been crushed when he drove into Kanima-Jackson. That meant he needed a ride to the pack meeting and Scott had been able to borrow his mother's car, so he caught a ride with him. He had tried to explain his annoyance to Scott and if anyone should understand not having a vehicle it should have been him. Scott had just ignored him and continued talking about what he was going to get Allison for her birthday which was still about four months away.

So he stormed off into the forest. He didn't have a car and he wasn't going to stick around and wait for Scott. Stiles walked and walked, for at least half an hour, traipsing through the overgrown foliage of Beacon Hills on his way home. He was headed in the right direction, he was sure, when he heard a noise that made him freeze. He looked down at his feet in time to see the Rattlesnake strike. Stiles cringed when he felt the snake's fangs pierce his shin and, almost immediately, a burning sensation appeared. His attacker slithered away into the protection of bushes and as Stiles cursed like a sailor, he continued walking as he tried to remember everything from his seventh grade first aid unit in Health class.

He knew rattlesnakes were venomous, as evidenced by the fact that his right leg felt like it was completely on fire. He remembered that exerting himself would just make the venom spread more quickly so he leaned against a tree when he was sure that he was far enough away from the snake to avoid a second strike. He slid his pants leg up to his knee and looked as the skin around the bite became red and puffy.

"Damn it," he said, as he reached into his phone. He was prepared to call Scott to come rescue him, which he knew would only show the werewolves that they were justified in benching him. Hell, if he couldn't survive a snakebite on his own even he wasn't sure he should be around the Alpha pack. When he found his pockets empty he experienced a brief moment of panic as he realized he had been checking his email when the meeting began. He placed it on the table and hadn't bothered to pick it back up when he stormed off.

He knew he was in trouble. If the pack hadn't come after him by now they weren't going to. He couldn't risk walking because that would just make the venom spread faster. He was already doing his best to keep the wound below his heart. Now he was faced with the possibility of actually dying from a rattlesnake bite. He really hated his life.

It was five minutes before he felt the burning sensation spread and the knowledge that the venom was spreading caused his stress level to skyrocket. His mind was going a mile a minute but his body was already feeling fatigued. Stiles was debating yelling for help, as if that would even work, when he felt like someone had pulled a meat tenderizer and was pounding it against his leg. He raised his jeans a second time and his entire shin was swollen. Blood and pus were leaking out of the wound and Stiles knew that he was completely screwed.


	2. Scott

Title: Venom - 2

Author: tmjohn72

Rating: T

A/N - Here is the next chapter. Sorry that it's so short.

* * *

_Scott_

Scott had two thoughts as he was walking towards the car. The first was that he really wanted to kiss Allison. The second thought was that he really didn't like Derek Hale. Especially bossier, holier-than-thou, king of all Alphas Derek Hale. Scott almost touched the door when Derek called his name and for a split second he wondered if he had said his feelings out loud without meaning to.

"Get this to Stiles."

Scott caught the cell that Derek tossed his way. He took one look at the ninja on the cover and knew that it belonged to Stiles. He nodded but Derek had already vanished back inside the house, so he got in the car and started it up. Scott didn't like how Derek spoke to Stiles, especially because Stiles was not a werewolf, and because he was his best friend. But he couldn't deny that Derek was trying to keep their human allies safe from the Alpha threat and if that meant they had to stay away from each other for a while, he figured it was well worth it.

When he pulled into the Stilinski driveway he was surprised to find the Sheriff's cruiser there. Scott got out of the car and avoided the door, opting to climb in through the window by a few well-maneuvered jumps. When he climbed inside of the bedroom he found everything in the same order it was when he had picked Stiles up. More surprising was the fact that Stiles wasn't there. The door opened and the Sheriff walked inside and glared.

"Scott, I know your mother raised you right."

"Sorry, Sheriff. Stiles forgot his cell and I just wanted to drop it off."

"I'm pretty sure he was with you when he left."

Scott sighed. "Yeah. He kind of got into an argument with another friend of mine and he took off walking. I thought he would be here by now."

"You let him walk home alone?"

Scott nodded. "The argument was kind of his fault."

"That sounds like my son. Well, just leave the phone here and he'll get it when he comes home. I'll even tell him that you stopped by to check on him."

"Thanks, Sheriff." Scott watched him turn and head out of the room. He placed the cell on Stiles' pillow and jumped out through the window. "And you can leave...through the door," he heard the Sheriff say, once he landed on the ground outside. Scott smiled as he walked to the car. He stopped walking when the wind shifted and he sniffed the air on instinct, recognizing the smell of an unknown werewolf in the vicinity. He got into the car and drove away quickly, dialing Derek when he was a block away from the house.


	3. Derek

Title: Venom - 3

Author: tmjohn72

Rating: T

A/N - This one is a little bit longer and features more action. Hopefully Scott will have some redeeming qualities for those of you that left comments stating that Stiles needed a new best friend.

* * *

_Derek_

Derek eyed the ringing phone. He didn't want to answer it, but something told him that he should. He was disappointed when he saw Scott's name on the caller ID because it wasn't the person he wanted to talk to. He pressed the green button on the phone's touchscreen and put it to his ear.

"What?," he asked, as though Scott was interrupting him from something important.

"We have a problem. They already know about Stiles."

"The Alpha pack?" The fact that they knew about Stiles didn't sit well with Derek. It made him want to see Stiles, to know that he was okay. It made him want to protect Stiles, even if it meant clawing his way through his enemies one by one. Derek pushed his instincts away long enough to listen to Scott.

"I dropped off his phone and he wasn't home. But an unknown werewolf has definitely been on his property. And Stiles isn't home. He should be home by now, Derek."

Derek sighed. This was looking very, very bad. "Call Boyd and Isaac and begin a search. I also want you to have Jackson keep an eye on Lydia. And you should make sure Allison isn't alone."

"You think they have him?"

"I don't know. Erica and I will see if we can track his steps after he left the meeting." Derek didn't bother waiting for a response. He hung up the phone and walked out of the living room. Erica was already standing by the door.

"Stiles is in trouble?"

"We're not sure. We're going to track him." She opened the door and walked outside of the house in front of Derek. He closed the door as she sniffed the air. She immediately pointed towards the forest. "He went that way."

Derek nodded and she took off running. He followed her and they both followed Stiles' scent. When the trail became narrow, Derek jumped in front of Erica and began to lead. He could tell that it annoyed her but he didn't care. His priority was finding Stiles and that was what he was going to do.

He came to a stop when he smelled adrenaline and blood. Erica came to a stop next to him. "Is that...?"

"Stiles' blood." He kneeled down to the ground and saw the drops of blood in the dirt.

"His scent changes here. He's hurt." Erica immediately looked worried.

"Let's keep going." Derek continued running and Erica stayed close behind. They made it half a mile before they were able to tell that Stiles was hurt by the way his blood smelled. That made Derek worried, and he was sure that Erica was able to sense that he was on edge.

"We're going to find him," she said, when he became frustrated at the mile mark. The closest tree took the brunt of it when he dug his claws into the trunk.

"What?"

"Stiles. We're going to find him, Derek. I know that you...that you care about him."

Derek looked into her eyes and he found no judgement. He found concern and fear, and he could also see that she knew his deepest secret. "How do you know?," he asked.

"I'm pretty sure I'm the only one. I was the outsider for years, Derek. I see things that other people think I don't. I hear the things people say when they use words to try to conceal their true meaning. I promise you. We're going to find him."

"Let's go," he said, and when he took off running again, she followed.

When the sound of an abnormally beating heart entered his hearing range, he headed straight for it. He took off at full speed which forced Erica to catch up.


	4. Stiles

Title: Venom - 4

Author: tmjohn72

Rating: T

A/N - The end has come. I know the premise of this story was difficult for some, but after some of my other fics I wanted to root this one in reality. It was a nice change of pace for me, actually.

Thanks for reading and reviewing!

* * *

_Stiles_

He thought he was hallucinating when Derek and Erica appeared out of nowhere. Derek kneeled next to him and put his hand to his neck to check his pulse. His eyes lowered to his leg and he pulled his jeans up to see the wound. "Snakebite."

"You were right. I'm a weak human."

"Erica, run ahead and call Deaton. Tell him what happened." She looked between them for a moment and then took off in the same direction they had come from. Stiles was seeing double at this point, but when he looked at Derek he only saw one of him.

"You're going to be fine, Stiles."

"Suck it."

"Excuse me?"

Stiles blinked a couple of times to keep his focus. "The venom. Suck it out."

"That only works in the movies. Come on." Stiles felt himself rise into the air when Derek picked him up off the ground. His vision blurred when Derek took off running, and he wasn't sure if it was because Derek was running really fast or because of the snake venom. His heartbeat was pounding in his ears and he felt warmer than usual, but he didn't have the strength to try to take off his jacket.

They slowed down when Erica appeared and was running towards them, the phone still shoved against her ear. "Stiles, do you know what kind of snake it was? Deaton needs to know which anti-venom to bring."

"Rattlesnake," he said, and his throat burned with each syllable. He was so thirsty and all he wanted to do was down a huge glass of water.

Erica moved out of the way so that they could continue running. She relayed the message to Deaton and then Stiles heard her following them. His body was numb and he was pretty sure that he was drooling on Derek's shoulder, but he didn't care. He was tired, so he closed his eyes and went to sleep.

* * *

When he opened his eyes he saw Derek staring back at him.

"Good morning."

"It's morning? My dad..."

"Thinks you and Scott had a fight, that you made up, and that you had a slumber party to celebrate your return to friendship."

"Not so loud..."

"Sorry," Derek said.

"For?"

"Bossing you around at the meeting. Making you want to leave. Making you get hurt."

Stiles stared. "You think it's your fault? I'm pretty sure the bite came from a snake. Your fangs would have done a lot more damage."

"Thanks," Derek said proudly, as though Stiles' words were meant as a comment. Stiles chuckled and sat up on the exam table. They were just as uncomfortable as he imagined and he felt sorry for the animals that Deaton examined there, himself now among them.

"Thanks for saving me. Where's Erica?"

"She's keeping everyone else out of your room so we can talk."

"That doesn't sound good." Stiles pushed the thin blanket off of himself and looked at the bite mark on his shin. Most of the swelling had already gone down and though there was a little discoloration, it looked mostly normal.

"I need to explain. Erica said she would make me regret it if I didn't."

"She's bossing you around? And I missed it?!"

"I trust you, Stiles. I don't trust people easily and you're one of the few people I know I can count on. I'm worried the Alpha pack will figure it out and hurt you to get to me."

"Oh." Stiles hadn't thought about it that way. It made sense.

"And I care about you. I realize now that sending you away isn't protecting you at all, which really is what I was trying to do. I was trying to protect you and that's not something I'm going to stop doing. Erica said I was rude and I'm sorry."

"I don't know what to say."

"Don't say anything."

Stiles raised and eyebrow because he knew that wasn't likely. "So are we, like, friends now?"

Derek thought about it for a moment. "We're pack. That's stronger than friendship."

"But I'm not a werewolf. Humans have friends, Derek."

"I don't kiss my friends, Stiles," Derek said. He stood up and closed the distance between them. He pressed his lips to Stiles' and found that they fit perfectly with his own. When Derek backed away they were both smiling.

"Being pack is way better," Stiles commented. He thought there should be a bumper sticker that said that, in fact.


End file.
